Scindia marvels at Meghalaya's living root bridges, calls them symbol of nature's harmony

Pynursla (Meghalaya), Nov 2 (PTI) Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed awe at Meghalaya's famed living root bridges, describing them as a "vision of the past" and a symbol of the harmony between humans and nature that must be treasured and protected.

Scindia on Saturday visited one of the tallest living root bridges at Rangthylliang village near here in East Khasi Hills district, where he interacted with locals and community elders who have preserved the centuries-old natural marvels.

Scindia and environmentalist Morningstar Khongthaw, along with others, spent some time on these towering living bridges, standing hundreds of feet above the forest floor below.

"When you come here, you are transported to a vision of the past, the beauty and tranquility of Mother Nature, her creativity as she wraps her arms around the earth and provides a pathway for us mere mortals to meet and connect," Scindia said in a video he posted on Instagram on Sunday.

He described the natural bridges as a reflection of the deep bond between people and their environment, saying, "The natural beauty of Mother Nature, her enveloping warmth, is something we, as humans, as Indians and as the people of Meghalaya must always treasure and worship because she is our protector and provider." Calling his visit "an enthralling experience", the minister said he was humbled to be "in touch with the soil of Meghalaya and the roots that have given birth to generations of natural-born people." "With profound humility, my head bows in reverence to her (Mother Nature)," he said, urging people to pledge to "spread her wonder far and wide" and to protect and nurture nature as she has done for humankind, "for millions of generations".

Scindia also praised the contributions of the Living Roots Foundation, led by Morningstar Khongthaw, whose work focuses on preserving, protecting, and passing on traditional knowledge of root-bridge making to future generations of tribal communities living along the southern slopes of the Khasi Hills.

Khongthaw, who interacted with Scindia during the visit, told PTI, "I am delighted to have got the opportunity to interact closely with the Union Minister for DoNER. I urged the Centre, through the minister, to highlight these living engineering marvels of Meghalaya. We need to preserve the bridges." The minister was in Meghalaya as part of a two-day visit during which he also laid the foundation for the Rs 233-crore Sohra circuit project under the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) scheme on Saturday.

The project aims to strengthen tourism infrastructure and create sustainable livelihood opportunities in Sohra, formerly known as Cherrapunji.

Earlier this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also visited a living root bridge in Sohra area, praising the indigenous engineering and community-led efforts to conserve Meghalaya's natural heritage. PTI JOP ACD